….
Lucy slid up to her new compatriot to do some useful questioning. This is because she was told to "escort" and she couldn't see any boxes, carts, or anything of material value to focus on. If she didn't have something to protect, then what was she here for?
"Will there be any differences between this escort and a regular escorting?"
…
The man looked at her, before facing ahead and calmly replying. "That depends on what you normally do for escorting. We protect the escortee."
Lucy thought about that for a second. A person, instead of an object? Have I ever actually… escorted somebody?
Ah, wait. I have, technically, done the similar idea. She noted, thinking back to one of her earlier missions.
"I just fight anything that tries to approach the delivery.
…. Person. The person."
"Exactly." he muttered. "Protect the delivery."
"They'll take five hits until they die." Lucy reminded herself.
Branwen glanced at her, pausing in a nod.
… Lucy glanced at him. Did he also do the old ore delivery jobs?
The trio went through the hills and spattering of trees, crunching the snow in their impromptu path. That is, until the head of the group paused and turned around in between a couple of trees and pointed right.
Lucy looked over, and saw a large white mound through the trees that rose over what may have been a drop. She couldn't tell well, since it was white on white.
"We should be, if you both were using a map, just past the original path I had tried to take." Déa explained. "We will be taking the plains as we exit the forest, and moving through the re-continuation of forest to find the area where I had noticed the first sighting of our destination."
"Déa, Sir. Should I expect creatures from every direction, or just from one?"
…
"We shouldn't expect any Grimm, Lucille. I would say to just be prepared."
"Borders then, in case of a surprise attack?"
"I… don't entirely know what you mean by that."
Lucy nodded once. "I will be prepared."
…
…
…
Branwen increased his pace to a brisk walk and took repeated turns looking around the large expanse of snow.
"Wait!" She hissed behind him.
Branwen grimaced, briefly, and kept walking.
"Wait!"
He kept walking.
… his steps were 8/8, so it wasn't exactly the same, but he noticed the beat anyways.
One.
Two.
Three.
…
…nothing.
...
..
He spoke as he froze. "Stop moving."
The girl groaned as she ran up to him. "I was trying to tell you that!"
"Something's not right here, kid. You need to stop-"
The girl paused as she continued to ignore the demand behind him, and he approximated her position to soon be just to his left.
…
The wind whistled low and quiet.
She landed her feet in perfect parallel with him.
She felt it too.
…
What's wrong? I can't tell what's meant to be happening. Déa wondered.
"Is something wrong?"
Branwen may have turned to face Déa, but he couldn't tell.
….
How do I explain what's wrong to him?
The girl cleared her throat and tapped his tense shoulder.
"It's just a border line. That's how we explain what's wrong. What kind of creatures normally appear here?"
Branwen slowly turned his head to face her. "A what? We're in Solitas. Where do you think we are?"
"That's a border. It's different. We're at a border line. It's an area where creatures can attack. It's normal to encounter them occasionally for people here, right?"
Branwen stared at the forest, and thought for a moment:
He remembered a quiet jolt, and a wet rending inter-spliced with pain.
Brown trees, white snow…
He looked to the right, and spotted a set of trees with large rending wounds on the trunks.
…I...This is where I was brought back to that town.
I suppose she has a point…
…
…
…
"Ae you saying that you can tell when Grimm can attack someone?"
"-read attack tells and stuff, yeah…" the girl muttered.
…
Branwen sarcastically widened his eyes at her unusual expressions. Attack tells? really?
"Oh. Yes, I can approximate where border lines are."
"So, what makes this a border line?"
"You should know-"
Branwen didn't, but he had a reason to ask.
"We have a normal person to explain this to. If they hear 'borderline' then he'll think of maps."
The girl paused to think before explaining. "It's probably since we haven't encountered anything yet. This is an obvious spot to do it, so it must be here."
He looked around. "You're talking about an ambush."
"It's not an ambush if we can tell where it is placed though." she said.
… "Grimm don't think like that, though, so it's not really feasible for that to happen."
…
…
"Then why did you stop just before what I suspect is a border line?"
…
She stared at him with an aura of smugness.
He stared straight ahead and wanted to, so badly, be on any continent but this.
…
It's not like that.
"Are you two fine?" Déa said behind them.
"We're thinking that this may be an ambush."
… "Oh. Should I stay back, then?"
…
…
The girl turned around and called out, "Yes, you should." Then took a step towards the unnerving plain.
…
…
…
….
This is weird. Lucy thought.
"There's nothing?" she wondered, slightly hesitant.
After a few seconds, it seemed to be safe, and there was, in fact, not a border line here.
…
No.
It's definitely a trap.
She could feel it. The place exuded the energy of sneaky traps. But…
there was nothing here.
The time stretched on, until the other two people approached her. Lucy, still confused, then walked with them into the forest.
-cccchk-
….Shh-The Enemy is Attacking.…
Lucy turned around at the opening of the trees and began to charge back into the field-
-thuwff-
-and quietly looked at the air to the left of her face after catching a glimpse of light.
"Did you just throw something at me?" Lucy said.
Thrown weapons? Thrown weapons?!
She grinned, wondering how this man trained himself. She hadn't met a weapon thrower, so this was… enjoyable. …Lucy was on the job, so she avoided squealing in excitement.
A glimmering appeared in two places, a blue one to her back, and a white one to her front. She reacted to both, with a more significant reply to the white flash.
Lucy spun, blurring the world as she moved back-first towards the white light, and spun her staff towards the light with purpose.
After all, the blue is my teammate.
…she frowned for just a moment, thinking back on a few of her previous encounters. A massive blue blast hitting into her chest like a godstrike missile… was one of the few exceptions. …usually, usually blue. she hedged.
-Tonggggg-
A bell-like vibration rippled through her staff.
Metal? Okay. I can deal with that-
-… damnii, no spells.
Lucy looked down, and reached to pick up what remained of her opponent, a small metallic sh-
…
-What?
Lucy flipped about the knife, looking at the rather fine condition despite being knocked out of the air by her staff. Seems a bit weak.
It made a faint shimmering bell-sound as it died, and Lucy quietly felt it. It... was familiar to her staff somehow.
"A sentient weapon? Weird." she said smiling, before turning around to look at her team members.
"It's dead, I think?" she called, looking directly back at her team for a moment. She then looked around the ground for the rest of the creatures, but couldn't find any.
… Lucy glanced up at the creature in her hand after a second or so.
…It hasn't vanished yet. Why has it not vanished yet?
dddingggg.
A large tug, in combination with a light tone, caused it to leap out of her hand and start skittering away… before jumping into the hands of her teammate.
Her lunge to catch it in the air faltered as she stared at the knife in the old man's hand.
…
…
…
That wasn't the creature…
… That… wasn't the creature…
…it's an ambush that I just know about. They should be after me already.
She turned around and growled, shouting at the air and glaring around the clearing.
"Just MOB me already you BEASTS! I'll take you all on at ONCE!"
Lucy turned around, swinging her staff with fury to hit…
…something.
….
The creature looked like a Meat Licker, muscled and animalistic… but disgustingly black. It was like Taurus took his living bony devil, fused it to a Meat Licker, and coated it in tar.
… Honestly, Lucy was pretty sure that was exactly what he did.
Her staff slammed against the creature's face, leaving behind a small crack in the bone. It was a depressingly weak hit for her.
…
Did I even land right? Could that crack just be a part of it?
…
"Here goes nothing, then."
The staff swung about in the endlessly memorable combination:
Left.
Right.
Left.
Left Spin and Charge forwards.
The last step had… unreliable efficiency against lunge class enemies, so she doubted the last hit could do much. They normally moved too fast to have the last hit properly land. However, there was a combo to complete.
Hooooh.
Lucy breathed out, backflipped, and swung her staff down with both hands, praying that the attack would land…
"Huu!"
..
..
-CRACK-
-and land it did. The creature jumped back after her combination attack, and Lucy threw out her hand to continue the assault.
"Blizzard!"
…
…
…
No magic.
…
SHIT. NO MAGIC.
Lucy gripped her staff tighter and prepared to repeat her combo attack, watching for any glimpse of something that signaled an attack.
…
…
The quadruped instead chose to lunge straight at her, and she batted it away with her staff.
…
Slam attack?
The thing proceeded to stand back up, turned to face her, and…
…Lunge straight at her.
Lucy charged at the animal, furiously bashing it with her weapon…
…
…Evasion?
It lunged at her.
Again.
"What are you doing?" she cried out. "Do something more, buddy? Did you run out of good ideas?"
Lucy's face fell as it prepared to lunge at her
She stared at it with a resigned frown. I… I'm just going to strangle you to death.
… then, as it was a mere brushing stroke away from her, a knife appeared in its mouth.
At first, Lucy thought it was an extra attack of the creature… but sadly, as she slowly watched the downed creature slide along the snow towards the forest.
Lucy eventually looked up and around for other creatures, spotting three others creeping towards the forest, all holding hilts in their teeth.
…
…
…
Am I too weak?
...
….
The girl was watching him after he removed his weapons from the dogs. If he had to liken it to an animal, it wouldn't be a very nice one.
…
He checked his blades before resheathing them, looking for any wear. There wasn't, and he was glad to see they were pristine.
…
"You look like a soaking bitch." he noted.
She bristled and frowned at him. "How exactly did you do that?"
… That? Branwen thought, spinning out an un-stringed blade before slipping it away.
"I threw knifes and they hit." he said.
This was not entirely true… but the girl wouldn't have the knowledge to know that.
…
…
"How did you hurt them so easily?"
"I threw knifes," he said.
…
She frowned deeper, and looked at his face. "What is that creature?"
Branwen sighed, and stared at her like the was an idiot.
"Grimm."
She shook her head, holding up her hands. "I mean… what is it made of?"
…
I don't know.
"Hmm… Grimm liquid? Not sure. Something dark and unfriendly, though."
… Enough talk.
Branwen checked his equipment and started to walk once again.
"Déa, are you doing all right? We dealt with the issues."
…
"I'm all well here. How is Lucille, Branwen?"
Branwen shrugged. He glanced back towards the girl behind them, before taking a step back.
She was frowning at him, quietly mimicking his steps.
How is this girl so damn fast?!
"I am fine. I just have some questions for... Branwen." she said.
Her eyes locked with him.
They demanded answers.
…
...
The two of them were now in front of Déa once again, navigating the forest path.
"If I had a crystal the size of… three fists, how would you feel?"
"It depends." Branwen said.
"That's a dust crystal."
"Yes? As I said, it depends."
She contemplated the sizes she normally experimented with. If it was a gem that large… she could probably attract a mechanical suit easily with the gravitational force it'll generate.
But this wasn't a situation involving force, but distance.
…
"Grimm. The only weird creatures here are Grimm, correct? Nothing else, only sub-classes of Grimm?"
"YES."
…
She frowned out of the corner of his eye. "If I had a purple crystal embedded into a knife… That… That would definitely make a knife be able to be that powerful. Practically, it should just be a normal knife, but if the crystal's effect is imparted into one single category and it inflicts enough damage to a weak point… that should allow for incredibly strong hunting knifes that replicate such a fea-"
Branwen slowed. She looked at him in confusion. Why did you change like that? I'm just talking about imbuing gems.
"How… in the world are you doing that?" he said.
She strode forwards to turn to look at him, grinning as she leaned forward. "Ha! I was right!"
He stared at her in disbelief. "Don't 'Ha' me! How are you talking so quickly? Shouldn't your throat hurt from the cold?"
"Nah. Anyways, why are you surprised? It's just basic gem knowledge."
Branwen was, to say the least, surprised. After all, this girl just… casually guessed at one of his best talents in a few seconds.
… or… she was close.
Branwen continued walking, ending the conversation.
…
…
…
….
Lucy looked at the man… Branwen. He was very good, especially at the knife throwing. She hadn't met anyone that could throw knifes, and thought it was very impressive.
…
…
Why does he not want to talk? Was it something she said? Is he hiding from someone?
…It wasn't about Taurus, right? Anyone she had ever met that had worked against Taurus used gems. There was something about them that made him not use it, so it wasn't surprising to find a combat trained man here that used gems.
…Lucy frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. This man is a nobody to her, a nobody with incredibly strong with a specialised combat class. This man… is here.
…
…
… in the middle of godfuck nowhere…
…working with her after she was told to not go after Taurus…
… who was able to detect border lines as well as her…
…who fought faster than her…
Lucy fell deep into thought, and emerged on a very serious and relevant point of realisation.
..
..
He's trying to do it instead.
…
Then, if that's all it was, Lucy had a simple answer on what to do:
If she can't hunt down Taurus, she'll gladly help her fellow man do it instead.
..
….
Branwen was monitoring the forest for any signs of creatures. His face emphasized professionalism and serious intent.
…
…
…
"You're good at control."
Fuck.
Branwen inwardly cursed. He had a good few minutes of silence when she came right back again with even more talking.
"I hadn't met any male users before. That's just a little extra detail, though. How long have you been practicing?"
…
Branwen turned his head, just a fraction, but he still turned. "When you say that, you mean…"
The girl spun around her staff with a few fingers of her left hand. "Your knives. You're…
…
She hesitated, before exhaling and whispering at him.
"You're a high level mage."
…
She frowned at his blank expression, and whispered.
… "The knife has a purple crystal. You can, after training, do feats such as the one you did recently, but only if you have that specific crystal.
Also, only mages use that kind of crystal due to it being an only mage compatible material."
…
He ignored her.
"That has nothing to do with me." Branwen muttered.
He started to continue facing forward, grimly looking at the forest.
..
..
Something snapped, and he glanced behind to quickly find the origin.
She was holding out her hands, closed in a snapping gesture. A soft rustling came behind her as Branwen stared.
Stared specifically at a staff that was inching along the ground behind her like a pet dog.
There was low ringing in the quiet air, obscured somewhat by the snow.
…
…
He looked at her.
She looked at him.
She...
…
…
They walked together, side by side in un-agreed silence. Progress in the mission was made, but at the cost of tension.
Something was going to snap. It was a tangible miasma.
… tangible tension, or, most likely too much heat.
He reached to the back of his neck, and tugged at his back a few times until it felt colder.
…
…
…
Strange.
"Hmm."
"I won't tell anyone if you don't want me t-"she started to say.
Branwen smiled softly.
"The head? It's pretty obvious."
He had noticed the significant crystal at the top of her staff. It turned out it wasn't as decorative as he hoped.
She nodded.
He turned away and spoke to the air. "That's nice, kid. Your wires seem to be pretty durable."
…
…
…
He fell silent and waited for the reaction.
…
…
…
"Wires." she whispered.
Branwen pulled out a blade, slid a pocketed ring on his finger, and carefully removed a thin metal wire from the same pocket, one of many.
After this preparation, he swung the blade back and forth with small twitching of his hand. The sharp knife floated in the air, dancing around his hand like a magical sword in a children's tale.
"Wires. Good, sturdy ones. It's just mankind's good old know-how. None of that magical stuff you kids get interested in."
None of it.
…
None at all.
…
….
Déa sighed as their group walked along.
The forest was reducing as they neared closer to their destination.
The chattering was not.
...